By the late 80's the Coors classic was no more, but some of the races survived. The one crit stage in Sacramento CA with the quarter mile of cobbles which still existed was sponsored by the California Lottery and brought huge loud crowds. It was equivalent to an NRC race today and brought teams like Coors Light, Schwinn-Wheaties, Celestial Seasonings and 7-11. It was huge and was also one of the first races I did as a cat-2 (junior).
I remember being on the start line (actually really far back from it) and looking around and being terribly intimidated because the guys around me were the same people I would read about in cycling magazines. It seemed larger than life.
When the race first started, I used everything I had to get in the front half. After about three laps I was pretty blown and the cobbles were kicking my ass. I vaguely remember seeing something like 60 or 70 laps remaining as I was slipping backwards fast and the single file line of riders was passing my on both sides. Before I knew it I was hanging on the very back by a string that was about to snap.
To my luck, at some point the race slowed down and when it picked up again I found myself in the top 10. Suddenly being up front gave me new life and I was pumped hearing the crowds. I did not want to slip back again and I was giving it everything to hold my spot, to the point where I was getting tunnel vision and going cross-eyed.
Then it happened. In the turn, going off the cobbles my front wheel skidded out on someones water bottle that had been dislodged from the vibrations. I slid left in the right hand turn and my handlebars hooked into the orange snow fencing standing my bike sideways for the rest off the single file field to plow into. It was chaos.
Some how I was fine, so I began to look for my bike in the carnage. It was next to Davis Phinney who was holding his extremely bloody hand and yelling all kinds of obscenities. All I could think of saying was "Sorry" as I hopped back on my bike and rolled to the pit where there was a huge gaggle of other riders waiting to get back in. I finished the race, but barely.
At a crit in Oakland the next day, Davis's hand was all hospitaled up. Apparently he split it between his fingers on my chain ring. Ouch. As I heard him yelling to officials, or somebody something about juniors should not allowed in the elite races I slinked back to try to stay out of his sight.
That wasn't the end of it. For several years, no matter how well I did at races I would be known as "that guy who crashed Davis Phinney". To make matters worse, I have seen that crash on TV (more than once) on shows like Bloopers, Bleepers and Practical Jokes.
So, although I was a junior and it was over 20 years ago, sorry Davis.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Coaching Revisited
Since starting my blog, I have gotten to talk to and know many riders from our area. I realize that there are riders here who would love to upgrade, but just never seem to be getting better. When I talk to them about pretty basic stuff from training to racing I either get a blank look, or acknowledgement that they know, but just haven't put this knowledge to action.
Riders in this district seem to have some cash. I'm not saying they are millionaires, but when you do a training ride and most guys around you have 4 or 5 thousand dollar bikes, you have got to think these people have money.
So what I am thinking is instead of throwing 1 or 2 thousand dollars into another set of wheels, maybe people should get some coaching - just long enough to get some basic fundamentals like how to ride in a pace line, or the why and how to train your weakness.
I know a lot of what a coach might teach you at first will seem obvious, but maybe paying for it instead of having someone tell you for free (or reading it on GamJams or something) might help it stick. The money side of it will make the information more real.
There are plenty of coaches - Pete Cannell, BJ Basham and a ton of other guys linked to GaJams, and they are hella expensive but people would probably have a more enjoyable time racing their bike if they knew what they were doing and practiced some pretty basic stuff.
Riders in this district seem to have some cash. I'm not saying they are millionaires, but when you do a training ride and most guys around you have 4 or 5 thousand dollar bikes, you have got to think these people have money.
So what I am thinking is instead of throwing 1 or 2 thousand dollars into another set of wheels, maybe people should get some coaching - just long enough to get some basic fundamentals like how to ride in a pace line, or the why and how to train your weakness.
I know a lot of what a coach might teach you at first will seem obvious, but maybe paying for it instead of having someone tell you for free (or reading it on GamJams or something) might help it stick. The money side of it will make the information more real.
There are plenty of coaches - Pete Cannell, BJ Basham and a ton of other guys linked to GaJams, and they are hella expensive but people would probably have a more enjoyable time racing their bike if they knew what they were doing and practiced some pretty basic stuff.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Good to Go
Day 1 of training after a week off and my legs didn't feel like they missed a beat. Went to Hains point, and right out off the car and into the rotation with Ken Johnson and Sean Berry. We went steady, not real hard and were eventually joined by the Ferret aka Mark Somers and Chris Schmidt. Its supposed to be warmer tomorrow (above freezing), so I can't wait to get the miles in.
The Ferret is ridding well considering he's pushing 65! One day I'll post the story of how the Ferret got his nickname while swindling Mexican kids out of the Chicklets they were selling on the border - but it's a long story and I just don't have time right now.
The Ferret is ridding well considering he's pushing 65! One day I'll post the story of how the Ferret got his nickname while swindling Mexican kids out of the Chicklets they were selling on the border - but it's a long story and I just don't have time right now.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The balancing act
I'm sick.
For the last year and a half, my rheumatologist says I either have ankylosing spondylitis or reactive arthritis. What is certain is that my immune system gets really pissed of and lays waste to my joints, tendons, ligaments and just plain jacks me up leaving me unable to walk or even move sometimes. It plain sucks.
Good news is that the medication I have been taking for the last year works and stops my big ol' bad immune system from doing it's thing.
Bad news is that it stops my immune system from doing it's thing.
That's the trade off, I can walk, ride my bike and bend my spine, knees and ankles. Great stuff. But the lame thing is if one of my boys has a sniffle, I get a sniffle, a cough, a sore throat and a migraine.
For this reason, I hate when people don't wash their hands and such. I really don't like shaking peoples hands or sharing food or drinks, it's risky. I also rest as much as possible and have been juicing pretty religiously lately to give my immune system a chance.
Well, both my little boys got sick last week, and so did I. I took a bunch of days off and started riding again yesterday - where I did Hains Point but I went easy.
Today I decided to up it, and try to fly. I never seemed to find my rhythm and felt that I could never go real well. I was cranking the pedals and the only person seeming to hurt was me. Wow, I thought, I guess being sick really took me down this time. I even started thinking that I needed to call Fuentes and tell him I'm not riding tomorrow - I don't want to slow him down. When I was done riding, I went to my car and realized my front wheel was askew and my tire was rubbing on the fork THE WHOLE TIME! Great, I am not as slow as I was thinking I was. I just pulled the dorkiest ultra rookie move in the book, but I got a great work out.
For the last year and a half, my rheumatologist says I either have ankylosing spondylitis or reactive arthritis. What is certain is that my immune system gets really pissed of and lays waste to my joints, tendons, ligaments and just plain jacks me up leaving me unable to walk or even move sometimes. It plain sucks.
Good news is that the medication I have been taking for the last year works and stops my big ol' bad immune system from doing it's thing.
Bad news is that it stops my immune system from doing it's thing.
That's the trade off, I can walk, ride my bike and bend my spine, knees and ankles. Great stuff. But the lame thing is if one of my boys has a sniffle, I get a sniffle, a cough, a sore throat and a migraine.
For this reason, I hate when people don't wash their hands and such. I really don't like shaking peoples hands or sharing food or drinks, it's risky. I also rest as much as possible and have been juicing pretty religiously lately to give my immune system a chance.
Well, both my little boys got sick last week, and so did I. I took a bunch of days off and started riding again yesterday - where I did Hains Point but I went easy.
Today I decided to up it, and try to fly. I never seemed to find my rhythm and felt that I could never go real well. I was cranking the pedals and the only person seeming to hurt was me. Wow, I thought, I guess being sick really took me down this time. I even started thinking that I needed to call Fuentes and tell him I'm not riding tomorrow - I don't want to slow him down. When I was done riding, I went to my car and realized my front wheel was askew and my tire was rubbing on the fork THE WHOLE TIME! Great, I am not as slow as I was thinking I was. I just pulled the dorkiest ultra rookie move in the book, but I got a great work out.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Ryan Raymond Smith - Part 1
In the mid 90's I was mounting my third comeback of my cycling career when I met a guy at a bike race named Chuck May. He told my he was on a team named Sierra Speed Gel that was looking for riders. I told him I was interested and so was my friend Chris Baumann, and before we knew it we were driving back and forth from Sacramento to Visalia where the team an most of the riders were located.
The team consisted of a bunch of guys trying their best but mostly having fun. It was manged by a guy named Mike Camarena and some guy who said he was an ex-Belgian pro. I remember Shawn Bagley, the sarcastic mechanic/racer Danny Rondon and most memorably Ryan Smith who was a last year junior.
By the time the team had run its course, it had had some pretty impressive riders. Most of them were my friends and connected to the team through me. We had former Irish National Champion and ex- 7-11 rider John Brady, former Tour de France rider Nathan Dahlberg, current pro Tony Cruz, of course Chis Baumann and Ryan Smith who ended up riding for Sierra Nevada and even Chad Gerlach. There were even two Dutch riders, Remko Krammer and Ono and some crazy Italian-Canadian dude named Lucca Segato. The team somewhat reminds me of Battley Harley in that it was composed of ex-pros and up and comers. We won many races, and NRC race and the sprinters jersey and even top 10 Redlands. It was a lot of fun.
All of us non-Visalia riders would stay at Ryan Smith's dad's house we called Club Med. The place was huge, giving each rider their own bed. It even had a jacuzzi, pool and what seemed to be endless groceries at our disposal. There was even maid service once a week. I was the first to stay there, and on that first night created quite the mess while trying to bunny hope onto rollers after too many beers, no food and a 5 hour ride.
Ryan Smith, Chris Baumann, John Brady, occasionally Chad Gerlach and I would form a core group of riders that would switch teams together, travel all over the country and Mexico in Cris's vintage VW bus and just create general mayhem wherever we went - sometimes getting kicked out of races or even towns. We had as good of a time you can have racing bicycles and still win.
The team consisted of a bunch of guys trying their best but mostly having fun. It was manged by a guy named Mike Camarena and some guy who said he was an ex-Belgian pro. I remember Shawn Bagley, the sarcastic mechanic/racer Danny Rondon and most memorably Ryan Smith who was a last year junior.
By the time the team had run its course, it had had some pretty impressive riders. Most of them were my friends and connected to the team through me. We had former Irish National Champion and ex- 7-11 rider John Brady, former Tour de France rider Nathan Dahlberg, current pro Tony Cruz, of course Chis Baumann and Ryan Smith who ended up riding for Sierra Nevada and even Chad Gerlach. There were even two Dutch riders, Remko Krammer and Ono and some crazy Italian-Canadian dude named Lucca Segato. The team somewhat reminds me of Battley Harley in that it was composed of ex-pros and up and comers. We won many races, and NRC race and the sprinters jersey and even top 10 Redlands. It was a lot of fun.
All of us non-Visalia riders would stay at Ryan Smith's dad's house we called Club Med. The place was huge, giving each rider their own bed. It even had a jacuzzi, pool and what seemed to be endless groceries at our disposal. There was even maid service once a week. I was the first to stay there, and on that first night created quite the mess while trying to bunny hope onto rollers after too many beers, no food and a 5 hour ride.
Ryan Smith, Chris Baumann, John Brady, occasionally Chad Gerlach and I would form a core group of riders that would switch teams together, travel all over the country and Mexico in Cris's vintage VW bus and just create general mayhem wherever we went - sometimes getting kicked out of races or even towns. We had as good of a time you can have racing bicycles and still win.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
My predictions...
The other day I was talking to a current pro and he said something to the affect that there are only about 5 really strong guys in this area. I wonder who they are?
Anyway, I have two MABRA rider predictions:
1. Brian Butts is going to have a stellar season. From years of racing at the an elite level, it would be hard not to recognize this, but he has all the qualities I think it takes to make a good domestic pro. He took time off, and has been building and at this point is consistently riding strong for the duration of every ride I have done with him.
2. Josh Frick (if he races much), like Brian, is also going to have a great year. When I first started riding, I heard much about him, but I never saw anything in races. As of late though, every time I have ridden with him, I am starting to see what they were talking about.
I hope both my predictions are right. Brian because he is my teammate. If Josh did well again, his teammates would probably follow suit and MABRA racing in the 1,2 field would be a whole lot more interesting and more fun.
Anyway, I have two MABRA rider predictions:
1. Brian Butts is going to have a stellar season. From years of racing at the an elite level, it would be hard not to recognize this, but he has all the qualities I think it takes to make a good domestic pro. He took time off, and has been building and at this point is consistently riding strong for the duration of every ride I have done with him.
2. Josh Frick (if he races much), like Brian, is also going to have a great year. When I first started riding, I heard much about him, but I never saw anything in races. As of late though, every time I have ridden with him, I am starting to see what they were talking about.
I hope both my predictions are right. Brian because he is my teammate. If Josh did well again, his teammates would probably follow suit and MABRA racing in the 1,2 field would be a whole lot more interesting and more fun.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Team ride
OK, now I am sore. Today pretty much my whole team (8 0f us and 2 others) meet at Dave Fuentes' house to do a 90mile Mt Weather loop that also included that climb up Hwy 7 that is in two parts.
Brian and I separated ourselves from everyone on the first kicker before you turn on the hwy that takes you to Mt Weather. He was tapping away pretty steady and it was a cool pace. When we swung onto the long strait up Mt Weather, I dropped my chain and had to put it back on with my hand. I hated watching him go up the road. While I was putting it back on, Ken Johnson and Dave came flying around the corner and Ken almost hit me. While I was getting back up to speed, Jose caught me. We worked together to try to catch Brian and Ken who had made contact, but could never close the gap. Ouch.
On the climb up Hwy 7, we all stayed together until the last 2k that I big ringed and went well clear of everyone. I had to cause I got punked on Mt Weather. When I asked Brian where he was when I went, he said he dropped his chain. What-ever, I really did drop mine.
All and all, it was a really good ride. I have cool teammates and there are little, if any personality conflicts. What's important is they all realize I am their King. Just kidding.
It looks like I'll be taking Tuesday of the bike cause the weather report says 'wintry mix', so easy ride tomorrow.
Brian and I separated ourselves from everyone on the first kicker before you turn on the hwy that takes you to Mt Weather. He was tapping away pretty steady and it was a cool pace. When we swung onto the long strait up Mt Weather, I dropped my chain and had to put it back on with my hand. I hated watching him go up the road. While I was putting it back on, Ken Johnson and Dave came flying around the corner and Ken almost hit me. While I was getting back up to speed, Jose caught me. We worked together to try to catch Brian and Ken who had made contact, but could never close the gap. Ouch.
On the climb up Hwy 7, we all stayed together until the last 2k that I big ringed and went well clear of everyone. I had to cause I got punked on Mt Weather. When I asked Brian where he was when I went, he said he dropped his chain. What-ever, I really did drop mine.
All and all, it was a really good ride. I have cool teammates and there are little, if any personality conflicts. What's important is they all realize I am their King. Just kidding.
It looks like I'll be taking Tuesday of the bike cause the weather report says 'wintry mix', so easy ride tomorrow.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
My Day
When I know I am going to ride pretty far at an intense pace, I have a pretty much ritualistic breakfast.
First thing I do is get the espresso machine going.
Then I wash and cut the fruit/vegetables that I am going to juice. Today was 5 apples, 10 carrots, a beet and a chunk of ginger. I love my Champion juicer.
While I am prepping the fruit and veges, the espresso finishes and I drink it as I do everything else.
Before I start actually juicing I take a steak out of the fridge and throw it on the grill outside. Steak is great for not bonking on long rides.
When I come back in, I juice everything and put it in the freezer - then I prep 4 eggs and get the cast-iron skillet warmed.
I go outside and flip the steak.
When I come back in, I cook the eggs (over-easy).
Once the eggs are done, I retrieve the steak and pull the juice from the freezer.
MMMM...
Today I did the 7am and the 10am. We are lucky to have so many cool group rides in DC, and it is cool to be able to do these two back to back if you want the miles.
I went pretty steady on the flats, and hard up the three hills on the 7am. I figured I would roll hard on this ride and sit at the back of the 10am. I even sprinted at the end, which I don't usually do because of how sketchy this sprint has been in the past - but Ken Johnson, Brian Butts and Jose Escobar led it out so well that the only guy left was DC Velo's Dave Bozak. It was a pretty fun head up sprint.
After the ride we went to Einsteins bagels and ran into Russ. He came in, giving us the evil eye and asked "why are you guys blowing up my place?" I was pretty surprised to see him because I heard he was having some nerve problem in his hip and hadn't been ridding.
As we rode out to the 1oam, we picked up the most fire power I have seen on that ride. All hopes of just sitting on the back comfortably went out the window when Nick Bax and Matt Cooke joined the ride.
Well, when the ride hit the fast part, it did just that - weren't fast. Russ and Matt pulled Nick and I away from the group. The group caught back up, the Russ took a gnarly pull and him Matt and I were clear - for good. I was definitely the weak link, and doing the 7am didn't help. I pulled, Matt pulled harder then Russ pulled and I was cross-eyed (Matt later said he was 'on the rivets'). After this, Russ pulled off and disappeared. I am glad he was gone because he was killing us. Matt and I went easy/steady the rest of the ride and never saw the group again.
Good food, good rides = good day. Can't wait for some beers and the NFL play-offs.
First thing I do is get the espresso machine going.
Then I wash and cut the fruit/vegetables that I am going to juice. Today was 5 apples, 10 carrots, a beet and a chunk of ginger. I love my Champion juicer.
While I am prepping the fruit and veges, the espresso finishes and I drink it as I do everything else.
Before I start actually juicing I take a steak out of the fridge and throw it on the grill outside. Steak is great for not bonking on long rides.
When I come back in, I juice everything and put it in the freezer - then I prep 4 eggs and get the cast-iron skillet warmed.
I go outside and flip the steak.
When I come back in, I cook the eggs (over-easy).
Once the eggs are done, I retrieve the steak and pull the juice from the freezer.
MMMM...
Today I did the 7am and the 10am. We are lucky to have so many cool group rides in DC, and it is cool to be able to do these two back to back if you want the miles.
I went pretty steady on the flats, and hard up the three hills on the 7am. I figured I would roll hard on this ride and sit at the back of the 10am. I even sprinted at the end, which I don't usually do because of how sketchy this sprint has been in the past - but Ken Johnson, Brian Butts and Jose Escobar led it out so well that the only guy left was DC Velo's Dave Bozak. It was a pretty fun head up sprint.
After the ride we went to Einsteins bagels and ran into Russ. He came in, giving us the evil eye and asked "why are you guys blowing up my place?" I was pretty surprised to see him because I heard he was having some nerve problem in his hip and hadn't been ridding.
As we rode out to the 1oam, we picked up the most fire power I have seen on that ride. All hopes of just sitting on the back comfortably went out the window when Nick Bax and Matt Cooke joined the ride.
Well, when the ride hit the fast part, it did just that - weren't fast. Russ and Matt pulled Nick and I away from the group. The group caught back up, the Russ took a gnarly pull and him Matt and I were clear - for good. I was definitely the weak link, and doing the 7am didn't help. I pulled, Matt pulled harder then Russ pulled and I was cross-eyed (Matt later said he was 'on the rivets'). After this, Russ pulled off and disappeared. I am glad he was gone because he was killing us. Matt and I went easy/steady the rest of the ride and never saw the group again.
Good food, good rides = good day. Can't wait for some beers and the NFL play-offs.
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